Chapter Two: The Servant girl's attack

Luna Selene. My heart sneered as the echoes of my pain resounded through the walls of my heart. 

Do I blame the servant? She is only following orders. Orders given to the Pack by my mate. 

I forced back my anger and pain at the unfairness of the situation, knowing there are only two people to blame in this situation. 

Victor and Selene. 

They both took something precious from me.

My dignity and happiness.

“Why?” 

The servant looks hesitant again. Her eyes shut briefly, then flew open a second later, her pale grey eyes looking determined as if she had summoned the courage to answer. 

“It is dinner time.” 

I scrunch up my brow. I didn’t realise I had slept this long. 

Following Victor’s arrival with his fated mate this morning, and the Pack rallying around him, leaving me feeling like the only child with no body to play it, I sneaked away to one of the guest rooms in the Pack house to cry my sorrows to the pillows. 

And I did. 

Tons of it, until the wave of exhaustion swept me off to the dreamland. 

I wish I could say I found solace in my dream world, but my nightmares in the real world followed me there, causing me to turn and toss until the banging on the door woke me. 

“And what does that have to do with me?” I questioned the servant with a puzzled look. The meal preparation in the Pack house is mostly undertaken by the servants in the house. We have a cook, and I only cook on special occasions. 

Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and any other special occasions in the Pack. 

Nightshade Pack is one of the biggest Packs, strong and wealthy, all thanks to Victor taking his father’s accomplishments more than a step further. 

If there is one thing to know about Victor, he is a man of ambition with a very good business head. He is smart and strong.

Little wonder he could elevate our Pack to the place of power it is. 

We used to be one of the minor Packs, but not anymore. 

The servant appeared even more distressed at my question, causing me to feel uneasy inside. 

Something tells me that I am not going to like what the servant is going to say. 

“Luna Selene wants you to make dinner.” 

Have you ever experienced that cringing feeling whenever you hear something you don’t like? It is an unpleasant piercing feeling in the ear in response to a terrible sound, words, or music.

That is how I feel when I hear her address Selene as Luna. 

It should come as a surprise that the blonde who evaded my home like an interloper would choose to rub salt into my injury, but no, it does not. 

Selene might have fooled the Pack with her sweet act, but I saw a cruel streak in those vacant, dead eyes that look like they are incapable of any emotions. 

How Victor could have fallen for such an ice queen beats my mind. 

I bet her veins are made up of ice, and she emits body frost instead of body heat. 

Should I ignore this request? 

She might be the Luna, but that doesn’t mean she gets to treat me like this. This is still my Pack, and even though Victor has taken away my Luna seat, he has not broken our bond, so technically, I am still the Luna. 

Even if it is only in my mind. 

I have never been one for confrontation, always choosing to steer clear of trouble when it blocks the path, and today will not be any different. 

I don’t believe that anyone can switch off their feelings overnight. I am certain that Victor still loves me, and whatever charm the evil witch fed him will fade soon, and he will realize that there is no better mate than me. 

“I will be right down,” I say calmly to the servant, even though calm is the least thing I am feeling right now. 

She nods her head and disappears so fast that the wind left behind stirred my gown. 

I closed the door quietly and leaned my body against it, staring up at the ceiling with a forlorn expression. 

I was feeling a lot of emotions, and the jungle of mess that is my mind left me feeling disoriented. 

No one would feel sane after being ruthlessly abandoned by their mate. If I could feel my wolf, I know she would be in a lot of agony. 

It is a small blessing that I only have my sorrow to deal with, and not my wolf’s howl of pain echoing forever in my head. 

Age fifteen is the age when every werewolf feels their other half. A milestone celebrated by the Pack under a bonfire. 

It is a big occasion in our Pack. 

It is the time when the wolf becomes a full wolf, and you are indoctrinated into the Pack. 

Every fifteen-year-old is brought to the center of the gathering so the Pack to see them transform. 

It is an awesome sight to behold.

Even though most scream at the sheer pain of their first transformation, that is soon forgotten when they stand on all fours, feeling the power of their second half coursing through their vein. 

Unfortunately for me, when it came to my turn, I couldn’t transform. I didn’t matter how much mental strain I applied that night, nothing happened. 

I could sense the being inside me, but I couldn’t call it forth. 

That night, not only did it end badly for me, but it ended in our family's humiliation, resulting in everyone calling me a freak. 

Only my parents stood beside me, assuring me that I was perfect the way the goddess made me. 

But words can only do so much. 

Of course, I didn’t believe them. Being different has never in any way equated perfection, not in the eyes of my peers, not in the eyes of the Pack members. 

I became the wolfless wolf. That is when they aren’t calling me a freak. 

I pushed back the bad memories, rejuvenated by my current situation, and went to tidy myself a little. 

 I didn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of viewing my agony. I am breaking inside, but I have a choice to reflect what I want the others to see. 

I packed my messy curly hair into a rough bun, used my fingers to disperse the look of exhaustion and pain plastered over my face, and did my best with water to wash away the evidence of my tears. 

Composed, at least on the outside, I marched out of my room with the determination of a soldier on a mission. 

I walked into the kitchen to find the servants talking about me. Or, I assume they were, because they all clammed up when I walked in. 

I ignored whatever they were saying and moved forward into the room, my head held high. 

“Serina,” I called one of the servant girls, a girl of eighteen summers, with a head full of almond curls. “Can you start cutting the potatoes?” I asked politely while busying myself getting out the other stuff for dinner. 

I opened my mouth to instruct the other girls on their various tasks to help make the dinner, but Serina’s mocking laughter cuts me off. 

I stopped what I was doing to face the girl, my expression blank. “Is something funny?” I enquire coldly, staring intently at the girl. 

She held my gaze with a boldness she couldn’t afford if I were the Luna, but I didn’t bite on her disrespect, holding my peace until I heard her explanation. 

“You don’t think it is funny that you think you can order us around?” She retorts with a mocking raised brow, the expression of amusement still lingering on her face. 

The other servants observed us like we were some kind of entertainment. 

Serina is a young girl coming into her own as a woman. She is stunning and she knows it, and because every teenage boy in the pack vies for her attention, she has gotten arrogant. 

She is also not the type to do her duties, but walks around ordering others around or gossiping. 

She is right, though. I am no longer the Luna, so I do not have the right to order her to do anything. 

“You are right,” I admit softly, rousing a smug smirk from the younger woman. “Do you mind helping then?” 

The smirk on her face widens. “Nope,” she pops the P, her grey eyes giddy with excitement. “Luna Selene was explicit in her instructions. No one should help you with dinner. Come on, girls, let's go find something fun to occupy ourselves while Cinderella makes the meal.” 

At this point, I feel exactly like the movie character, except no prince is coming to rescue me.

Serina started toward the door, and I was surprised to see not only the young servants but the older ones follow her out, except for one. 

At the door, she says. "I am so looking forward to tonight’s dinner," She smirks, before  walking out, her entourage behind her.